Now that the year is almost over and those casual GNC scrubs from ONM aren't around anymore, I figured it's be fun to do a little GOTY award type thingy.

Standard format as per these kind of things: pick a top 3 games for each category and vote for which you think is 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each respective category. A vote for 1st gets 3 points, 2nd gets 2 and 3rd gets 1. Making an exception for the overall GOTY award so you can vote for a total of 5 games rather than just 3 since there's more to choose from.

Couple of rules:

Any games released between January 1st and December 31st 2014 are eligible, regardless of which territory they were released within.

Remakes/HD upgrades/re-releases are allowed.

Voting is open immediately and will close on December 30th at 7:00 p.m. Any votes cast after this time will not be counted.

Game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
PC game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Xbox One game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Xbox 360 game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
PS4 game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
PS3 game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Wii U game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
3DS game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
PS Vita game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Mobile game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Indie game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Multiplayer game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Publisher of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Dev of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Worst game of the year:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Most anticipated game of 2015:
[1]
[2]
[3]

If you're struggling to think of what came out this year, try having a look here. It's by no means a complete list but it should help jog your memory if you're flagging.

Also feel free to write a bit about any games that you feel deserve a bit more attention or explanation; I'll use what's written by you guys in the final results so that I don't have to make the effort myself

And that's it. Get to it

Last edited by Kesskuron on Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:40 am, edited 4 times in total.

I suppose we shouldn't vote for games on consoles we don't own/haven't played, but say we appreciate what a game was going for on a system, would it be okay to vote for it even if you hadn't played it?

For instance, Sunset Overdrive on XB1 as a first place vote for having an ounce of playfulness and creativity with a great visual design - even if I hadn't played it?

SanTheSly wrote:I suppose we shouldn't vote for games on consoles we don't own/haven't played, but say we appreciate what a game was going for on a system, would it be okay to vote for it even if you hadn't played it?

For instance, Sunset Overdrive on XB1 as a first place vote for having an ounce of playfulness and creativity with a great visual design - even if I hadn't played it?

Sure, why not
If you think it deserves it and it's a game that's genuinely impressed/interested you then go for it
Obviously the preference is for you to vote for games you've had hands on time with, but I'm not gonna demand you only vote for what you've played
As long as people don't go silly with it then I don't mind

Got bored part way through so this will do. Only put in games I've played in some form, like with Revengeance: played it on 360 last year but it needs to be here because look at it. This also jelps highlight that I have played very few new games this year.

There's a lot of Nintendo bias in this list mainly due to the fact that my only home consoles are a Wii U and a PS3 and I decided to only pick games that I've played. Although saying that, I haven't actually played Kingdom Hearts 2.5 yet but I have played the original KH2 which I feel justifies my decision a bit more.

The only real criticism you can have of Ground Zeroes is it's length, but if you're anything like me and played through all of the missions over and over to see all the content, unlock all the extras, and experience all the different ways of playing the game, that fault disappears. A brilliant game and the perfect hype builder for MGS5 next year. Gameplay wise, quite possibly the best and most refined MGS to date - and that's even without the cardboard box, so just imagine how good The Phantom Pain will be!

PC game of the year:
[1] Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth
[2] Shadowrun: Dragonfall
[3] The Wolf Among Us: Season One

Civilization is possibly the greatest turn-based strategy series in existence. Civilization 5 was the pinnacle of that series (once it had all the added content). Beyond Earth, being built from that Civ 5 base, has all of that base strength backing it. Combine that with the sci-fi setting and several new, interesting gameplay mechanics (most notably the affinity system), and this game was pretty much made for me, equal part fan of sci-fi and civ.

When a new developer takes over an established series from the original studio, you worry that the series will go downhill. With Little Big Planet 3, those fears are unfounded. It retains all of the LBP charm while building on the gameplay and creative possibilities, making it the best Little Big Planet to date. That's high praise.

I also have to give a big shoutout to Entwined. While it doesn't quite reach the giddy heights of Flower or Journey, it also has that unique, artistic flair, and playing through the game still strikes those emotional chords common to these so-called art games. It helps that the gameplay is great too - the challenge mode especially is, well, especially challenging.

PS3 game of the year:
[1] Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
[2] The Walking Dead: Season Two
[3] -

*insert description of Ground Zeroes from above*

As for season two of The Walking Dead from TellTale, this lived up to everything I could hope for following Season One. Without giving anything away, there were moments throughout that genuinely moved me, genuinely shocked me, and genuinely made me grin with joy. As far as crafting emotional attachments to character's in videogames goes, TellTale proved once more that they are top of the class.

Wii U game of the year:
[1] Hyrule Warriors
[2] Mario Kart 8
[3] -

Dynasty Warriors is a fantastic series. Zelda is a fantastic series. Turns out that combining the two and taking the best of both makes an equally fantastic game. It's an absolute blast in multiplayer too.

3DS game of the year:
[1] -
[2] -
[3] -

PS Vita game of the year:
[1] Freedom Wars
[2] Soul Sacrifice: Delta
[3] Toukiden: The Age of Demons

The Vita has had a great year for hunting action games, as evidenced by my top 3 vita games all being in that genre. Freedom Wars takes the top spot due to some fantastic world building, a great blending of third person shooting and action, a vast amount of content, and of course the ability to make my character wear the most garish and clashing neon-coloured clothing.

Lovely Planet is basically what happens if you take the aesthetics of Katamari and apply them to a hybrid game of Portal and Super Meat Boy. And it's every bit as fantastic (and even more challenging) than it sounds. Criminally underrated, you should go play this now - at only £3.50 (excluding sales) you have no excuse!

Having played a hotseat game for literally 12 hours straight, from roughly 7pm to 7am, Beyond Earth has to be my choice for multiplayer game of the year. Brilliant stuff (and we didn't even finish our game).

Following the brilliant Ground Zeroes, which was essentially a paid-for demo of The Phantom Pain, there is every reason to be massively hyped for the latest MGS instalment. With the new generation the game is set to look better than ever, and with MGS being renowned for it's cinematic approach to videogames that can only be a good thing. Combine that with the new engine driving the most refined and adaptable gameplay yet seen in an MGS game and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is easily set up to be the game to beat in 2015, and a likely contender for next year's GOTY.

Also Just Cause 3 hype. I hope I can still break my fall by grappling the ground.

And that's literally all the new stuff I've played this year. Well, apart from Smash Bros, but it's not worthy of any GOTY awards, IMO. It's alright, but it's not great by any measure. And I don't even own the Wii U one because GAME like being crap...

I'm yet to actually play a game from 2014 (Nothing took my interest until Far Cry 4 came out, but I can't afford it). Still here my most anticipated list
Most anticipated game of 2015:
[1] Grand Theft Auto 5 PC peasant free 60 FPS special edition*
[2] Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number *Note I am making a joke, do not take it seriously